Michael Fenwick Briggs (7 July 1926 – 22 July 2017) was a British businessman who led preservation work in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. The son of Dennis B. Briggs, of Oxford, and Grace Mary Davey Luke, Briggs was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

, Holt, and Merton College, Oxford, as a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

cadet. In 1953, Briggs married the author and publisher

Isabel Colegate Isabel Diana Colegate (10 September 1931 – 12 March 2023) was a British author and literary agent. Early life and education Born in Paddington in London, England, Colegate was the youngest of her parents' four daughters. Her father was Sir ...

, and they had two sons and a daughter. A company director in the oil business, in 1961 Briggs bought and began to restore

Midford Castle Midford Castle is a folly castle in the village of Midford, and the parish of Southstoke south of Bath, Somerset, England. The castle was built in 1775 for Henry Disney Roebuck from designs by John Carter in the shape of the "clubs" symbol u ...

, a Strawberry Hill Gothic

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

near Bath. He went on to serve for twenty years as Chairman of the

Bath Preservation Trust The Bath Preservation Trust is a charity that is based in Bath, Somerset, England, which exists to safeguard for the public benefit the historic character and amenities of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its environs. The trust is i ...

."Michael Briggs, chairman of Bath Preservation Trust – obituary"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 29 July 2017, accessed 11 August 2021 Briggs owned Midford Castle for more than 45 years, making repairs, treating a former chapel as a picturesque ruin in the grounds, buying back land and buildings which had previously been sold off, and thus bringing the size of the surrounding parkland and woodland up to 59 acres. The property was advertised for sale in 2007. In 1984, Briggs’s daughter Emily Susanna married Jonathan G. Ashley.''

Debrett's People of Today ''Debrett's People of Today'' was a reference work published by Debrett's containing biographical details of approximately 25,000 notable people from across the spectrum of British society, a rival to the longer-established ''Who's Who''. Those in ...

'' (London: Debrett's, 2006), p. 62 Briggs died on 22 July 2017, aged 91.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Michael Fenwick 1926 births 2017 deaths Alumni of Merton College, Oxford People educated at Gresham's School Businesspeople in the oil industry